Communications networks (LANs, WANs, etc.) currently transfer vast quantities of information in both local and wide area networks. The information typically consists of signals (electronic or optical) representing digitized or digital voice, video, and/or data that is transferred between endpoints in networks. For information to be transmitted in a network, a communication path must be established within the network between the sender(s) and receiver(s) of the information. For example, a communication path may be established by packet switching, wherein virtual circuits or channels are established between sender(s) and receiver(s). The virtual circuits or channels are only occupied for the duration of the transmission of the packet.
In an Internet protocol (IP) environment, the communication channel commonly utilizes the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) at the transport layer, where the layers of the network are defined by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. The TCP communication channel is reliable, full-duplex and streaming. To achieve this functionality, the TCP drivers break up a session data stream into discrete packets and attach a TCP header to each packet. An IP header is also attached to the packet and the composite packet is then passed to the network for delivery.
Once the packets are passed to the network, a gateway router routes the data packets to their various destinations. A gateway router is a network node that forwards data packets from one local area network or wide area network to another. Gateway routers read the network address in each transmitted packet and use routing tables and routing protocols to make decisions on where to forward each packet.
FIG. 1 depicts an example of a packet-switching network 100 in which a gateway router 110 connects multiple client computers 101–106. As packets come into the gateway router 110, processing engines within the gateway router 110 process the data packets for delivery to their destination. However, at any given time, processing engines within the gateway router 110 may be idle, i.e. turned on but not processing any data packets. If processing engines are turned on but not processing any data packets, energy is being needlessly consumed by the system thereby wasting system resources and decreasing the overall efficiency of the networking system.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and system that address the above-outlined shortcomings of the conventional technology. The method and system should be simple, cost effective and capable of being easily adapted to existing technology.